Ford Expedition reviews

2001 Ford Expedition Interior Features

Expedition's interior is big and comfortable. Climbing in and out is a chore, however, with the tall ride height. Women wearing nice dresses often struggle to climb up, something that's impossible to do gracefully. Grab handles and running boards help, but my passenger managed to bang her head into that grab handle while trying to get out after a long and taxing day, an event that soured her mood further.

Several seating configurations are available. Expedition can carry up to nine people, when equipped with bench seats at all three locations. A more comfortable arrangement is six passengers, two in each row.

Optional captain's chairs in the second row ($795), give rear-seat passengers a more luxurious experience. The downside is that the space between them is still there when the third-row bench is removed and the rear seats are folded down; this can present a hazard for a big dog because it can step or fall into the well between the seats, so it's better to have the center seats folded up for this situation.

The available third-row bench provides seating for two more passengers, but it's cramped back there. Getting in and out of the third seat requires some agility, so it helps to be small and young. Once back there, there's no headroom and legroom is cramped. It's best reserved for children who have grown out of booster seats, but haven't grown to adult heights.

The third-row bench can be folded up: flip the lever, fold the seatback down, grab the floor lever and lift up. A kickstand secures it in the up position. This is a good solution when carrying cargo, but it isn't a friendly place for a dog because of all the hardware sticking out of the exposed seat bottom.

A better option is to yank the third row out and wheel it into the garage. It's easy to remove once you know how: simply flip and lever and fold the seatback down, then grab the floor lever and yank rearward. Four wheels make rolling it to the back of the vehicle easy. It's quite heavy though, so dropping it to the ground won't help a bad back. Once on the pavement, it can be wheeled to the garage. Lifting it back into the vehicle requires some heft when doing it alone, another back-strainer, but once it's in, it pops right into place.

Front seats offer a myriad of power adjustments, but I had trouble finding a comfortable setting. They were covered in nice leather on our Eddie Bauer model; it's too bad Ford didn't finish the inside panel of the seats off, however, because the less-attractive furry material on them is visible to driver and passenger.

Second-row seats are as luxurious and comfortable as the front seats; in fact, I found them more comfortable. Lots of legroom and headroom adds to the comfort of center-seat passengers on long trips.

First- and second-row occupants get separate heating, ventilation and air conditioning controls; a third set of controls for the third seat is optional.

A curved dashboard houses instruments and controls where they can easily be reached. An optional large center console offers additional storage space and a place for front-seat occupants to rest their arms. The Eddie Bauer version comes with an overhead console with a digital display that provides compass headings, date and time and average fuel economy; a switch operates power swing-out rear quarter windows. Nicely designed cruise controls are mounted on the steering wheel. The wiring around the rear-view mirror is untidy.

Attractive and durable materials are used throughout the Expedition's cabin. Soft-touch coverings are applied to switches and door panels. The window switches are lighted internally at night, a nice touch that not all vehicles carry. Optional adjustable pedals allow the driver to adjust the pedal cluster at the touch of a dashboard-mounted switch. With a range of adjustment of three inches, this feature allows shorter drivers to find a more comfortable driving position with greater ease, and permits sitting a much safer d